Cold Nights
by elsanonymous
Summary: Elsa had not been looking forward to stay at the 'Arendelle Institute of Emotional Wellbeing' to say the least, but found herself pleasantly surprised by what she found within it- particularly a certain perky redhead she found to be her roommate, and the dark secrets buried beneath her gorgeous smile that Elsa just ached to dig up. [Non-incest Elsanna, Modern AU]
1. Chapter 1

"Hi! Welcome! Are you Elsa?"

The girl that stood across from Anna responded with a silent nod. She could tell from her expression that the institute was quite different from what she had been expecting; Anna had found that most people felt that way. She extended a hand to the hesitant blonde, whose own hands were pulling nervously at the loose braid that hung over her left shoulder. Slowly, she reached out and shook Anna's hand, though pulling away as quickly as she could without being rude.

"I don't know what you were expecting..." Anna began her usual ramble of introduction as she led the silent girl down the well-lit, if not slightly intimidating hall. "I mean, your expectations probably weren't too high. People usually expect it to be…" Her speech drifted off slightly hen she noticed the intense way Elsa stared at her. In the new patients, she usually looked for fear or anger in her eyes, and based her approach on that… but in Elsa, she saw something she couldn't place, and that made her nervous.

"Um, people usually expect it to be kinds gross and scary… but it's not like that here."

Anna stopped walking and turned when she heard Elsa quietly clear her throat. The girl shifted nervously and pulled the sleeves of her oversized sweater over her hands. "So, um, are you… an orderly?"

"Oh, no!" Anna smiled, glad that she was willing to engage. "I'm actually a patient. The orderlies don't do the introductions because, well, they don't get it, do they? I do a lot of initiation because most of the other guys aren't up for it… don't get the wrong idea, I mean, they're great, just very routine-oriented, you know? Sorry, I ramble a lot. You get used to it. But yeah, I do a lot of the introductory… stuff. I just worry that people find me annoying!"

_Whew. Even worse than usual today._

Elsa seemed to relax slightly upon hearing this, her grip on her braid loosening slightly.

"Okay, well, let me show you around." Anna gestured for Elsa to follow her down the hall, slowing so that Elsa walked beside her instead of trailing behind, and led her into a large room.

"This is the lounge. It functions kinda as everything, really. You can be in here all the time except for from twelve to five, those are visitation hours. You can work out your visitation with the orderlies. They come through all the time, and there's a couple of phones around to call them if you…"

The newly present tension in Elsa's face told her that she wouldn't have to worry about visitation procedure, so she cleared her throat and moved on quickly to avoid discomfort.

"… There's a TV, some game stuff, and there's activities on all the time. You'll get a timetable." She continued on towards a long hall, stopping to pull a small piece of paper from her pocket. Her face fell briefly, though she caught herself and smiled again, but Elsa had seen it clearly. "Looks like you're with me."

She led the new girl into a room with two beds either side, duplicate furniture laid out symmetrically. It was immediately clear to Elsa which side was Anna's. The wall was painted various shades of green and covered in bright pink and purple flowers that appeared to be hand painted. The carefully made bed was lined with an impressive collection of teddy bears, and the wall space above the head of her bed was covered in pinups of letters and personal photos. Elsa almost wondered if Anna was being paid to stay here just to make the other patients feel better with her sunshine attitude… but then she remembered the way her face fell at the concept of a roommate. She couldn't help but assume that Anna had something to hide; she was just wired that way.

"So, um…" Anna was now perched on the edge of her bed, rearranging her bears. "They give you paints and stuff, and you can decorate the walls however you want. If that's not your thing there are plenty of us that can help. I actually haven't had a roommate in a while, but I shouldn't be such terrible company, I hope."

She smiled again, in the bright, warm way that Elsa figured was what made her so easy to be around. She had a way of making you feel comfortable, which Elsa certainly did, but she couldn't let it show.

"So, I guess I'll let you get settled in?" Anna slowly got up to leave, though leaving space for Elsa to object, expertly done, as though there was a question mark floating through the air. She'd done this plenty of times before.

"Oh! I almost forgot." She reached into a drawer and pulled out a pair of earmuffs.

"They're noise-cancelling. A courtesy… I recommend wearing them."

With that, she smiled again, though much less convincingly, before waving and leaving the room.

Elsa sank into the pillows of the bed- _her_ bed now. The place was much less dark and clinical than she'd expected, in fact quite the opposite. It was bright and almost homely, comfortable and soft. Or maybe that was just the bed she was lying on, but _wow, _it felt good. Her mind couldn't help but spin back to Anna and her fallen, unconvincing smiles after learning they would share a room. Unsure if she was just being overly cautious and reserved, or really noticing something, she resolved to keep eyes on the redhead. She was an unlikely enigma… Perhaps Elsa's time here could be worthwhile.


	2. Chapter 2

Anna found an eager face waiting for her near her usual spot in the lounge. Kristoff sat sprawled across the sofa opposite from the leather recliner that Anna had claimed as hers a long time ago, TV remote in hand, incessantly changing the channel as he peered around to see her.

"Hey, Anna! What's she like? Spill, spill, spill."

Anna rolled her eyes at the boy, whose thumb continued to tap at the remote.

"I don't know, Kristoff, she seems sweet. She's quiet, but you know, she's nervous, she-"

"Just fucking pick one!"

The eruption from the dark haired boy that sat on the floor received simultaneous eye rolls from Anna and Kristoff.

"Thirty more to go, Hans." Kristoff smiled, unfazed by the outburst.

A loud and exaggerated groan had Anna stifling a laugh.

"It's two hundred and fifty two every day, Hans. You know that."

His head whipped around to stare at the redhead.

"You're freaks, all of you." He announced, standing up and storming from the room. "Fucking freaks, all of them! I am too good for this place."

Anna laughed as she watched him leave, almost walking into the door in his blind rage.

"So anyway, what's her deal? Like, out of ten, how crazy?"

Anna scoffed. "That's awful, Kristoff. I don't even know, anyway. I don't ask that."

He raised an eyebrow at her before tossing the remote in her direction.

"Done! And you _should_ ask that. It would save us so much time."

"I will not ask that. She's a person. It's her business…"

Kristoff's expression grew exasperated.

"You're sharing a room! You should know if she's gonna start like, fighting with air or screaming at nothing or something. Hey, that reminds me, did you give her the earmuffs?"

Anna shifted, looking at her hands uncomfortably. "Yeah. I don't know if she took it seriously, she's hard to read."

"You could just tell her."

Anna didn't react. "Or I could _not_."

_Don't want to scare her off _too _quickly._

Kristoff raised his hands in defeat. "Alright, alright. Now, pick something already. You're starting to act like me." He gestured to the TV, where channels were flying past at lighting speed. He grinned and settled back in his seat when she landed on a channel showing a _Family Guy_ marathon.

Anna couldn't focus, though, her mind occupied with her concern at having a roommate after so long.

On her way to retrieve Elsa to show her to the dining room, seeing her own bedroom door closed had given Anna pause. The closed door made her feel isolated- she was so used to seeing the flash of colour that was her bedroom wall separate the seemingly endless white walls as she walked down this hall. Now, this slightly scuffed, white-grey door, printed with a distinct black number ten, felt unwelcoming.

_Never been too great with doors. Shake it off, Anna. Shake it off._

In this moment of hesitation, she noticed the muffled voice coming from inside. She lifted her hand from the door handle, and opted to knock instead, the need to be permitted into her own space making her feel unsteady. The voice stopped as soon as she knocked, followed by the sound of shuffling and the door opening abruptly. Elsa looked significantly more relaxed than earlier, though her hair was messy and her eye make-up slightly smudged. Anna wondered how she could look even more stunning that way, suddenly very aware of her desire to push a stray strand of hair behind the girl's ear. Blinking, she shook it off, and smiled. "Hi. Only me." She cleared her throat uncomfortably. "Um, they just called us for dinner. It's right down the hall. You ready?"

Elsa nodded silently, leaving the room and closing the door behind her, the unfamiliar _click_ of the mechanism making Anna jump. The blonde leaned against the closed door for a moment, eyes closed, composing herself. She exhaled deeply, before opening her eyes to be met by a brief but intriguing gaze. Anna's eyes darted quickly away as she began to descend the hallway. "It's uh, um, it's this way."

Elsa followed her without a word, grateful for the space between them that kept her smile hidden.

The dinner was not so much awkward as it was odd. Elsa spoke little in her reluctance to give away too much of herself before she properly understood the people around her. She had pinned that Anna's muscular blonde friend, Kristoff, who had joined them, had some form of OCD, despite his casual attitude. His smile was goofy and lopsided as he strategically rearranged his plate and tapped his fork on the table exactly one hundred and fifty two times. The room was surprisingly relaxed, resembling a small scale high school cafeteria.

_Hopefully as close to high school as this place gets. _

Elsa hadn't done so well there.

Elsa listened intently as Anna cheerfully identified the other people in the room, of whom there was about twenty.

"That's Hans," Anna gestured to Hans with her eyes and a tilt of her head only, clearly not wanting to draw his attention. Elsa followed with her eyes to see a dark haired boy with darkened eyes seated alone in the centre of the room. Everyone else's seating suddenly made sense; each group was cramped together in corners, clearly trying to keep as much distance from him as possible. Never had she seen someone rip into a sandwich so aggressively.

"He has serious anger problems, sometimes delusions."

Elsa's eyes flashed up at the last word.

"The most common one is that he is a king, and his kingdom was overthrown. Apparently the _peasants_ declared him insane and threw him in this so-called _asylum _so they didn't have to deal with him."

Elsa's brows furrowed in thought, her eyes falling back to Hans, only to find him staring at her. She suddenly felt sick to her stomach, spying something awfully familiar in his eyes. She blinked, alarmed, before bringing her attention back to Anna, who had already moved on to someone else.

Elsa reluctantly joined the rest of the patients for movie night in the lounge, watching a romantic comedy of Anna's choice- there was a router of who got to choose, which Elsa was told she would be added to- that she found hard to pay any real attention to. Her mind was a fatigued mess of intrigue and fear, part of her looking forward to sharing a room with Anna to learn more about her, part of her dreading it in fear of revealing too much to the other girl of who she really was. The day had been draining despite the little physical activity it had actually entailed, and she felt her eyes threaten to close just as the loud pop song of the movie credits blasted from the speakers and forced her awake. She rubbed her eyes before attempting to stand up, stumbling towards the ground only to be caught by Anna.

"Hey, whoa, sleepy. Awake enough to walk to bed?"

Elsa chuckled lightly, finding her balance again.

"I'm good." She watched the girl's smile grow wider.

"I'm good."


	3. Chapter 3

As Elsa sank into the soft, clean sheets of her bed, she tried not to think about home. As much as there were many, many aspects of it she would not miss, her own room was something she knew that she would. It had become a sanctuary in an otherwise unpleasant place; with locks on the door and the windows, buried under sheets, being shut away in there was where she felt the most free. Ironically, now she was shut away in the most literal sense: institutionalised, barred from society, and it was the most free she had felt in a long time. She couldn't help but miss her own bed, her own walls, her own door. She shifted under the covers to get comfortable, glancing over at Anna, who had been in bed before Elsa had returned from the bathroom. She laid unmoving, eyes fixated on the ceiling, nervous. All she had spoken was a request to leave the door open slightly- she wasn't used to having it closed. Elsa wondered if she had argued with Kristoff, who she had seen leave the room just as she approached it, his expression unreadable.

"Do you have the lamp on or off?" Elsa broke the silence with the innocent question.

"Um, your choice. I can sleep either way." Anna turned her head slightly to look at Elsa, the rest of her body still unmoving.

"Are you gonna wear the earmuffs?"

She cleared her throat. "Uh, do I have to?"

"Well, no, but uh… I recommend it."

Anna's voice was soft but her eyes were pleading. Not wanting to upset her, Elsa resolved to put them on for now, and remove them when Anna fell asleep. She didn't imagine she'd be getting too much sleep, despite how soft the mattress might be. She didn't adjust well to change. She put the earmuffs on and smiled reassuringly at Anna, who visibly relaxed, before she turned off the light.

"Goodnight."

"Hi Elsa!"

A familiar face peered at her around the door.

"Hi, Olaf," Elsa whispered through a yawn.

"Be quiet. Anna is sleeping."

_Be quiet? Are you serious?_

"Anna!" The little boy was smiling, entering the room, his voice lowered as he was told. "Anna is very pretty." He bounded over to Elsa's bed and jumped up to sit next to her as she stretched, pulling off the earmuffs she'd accidentally left on.

"Are you sure she's sleeping?" Olaf gazed up at her innocently, curling into her side.

"What do you mean? I don't-"

"Who are you talking to?"

Elsa froze as she heard the voice across the room.

"I, um. What? I'm… Why are you awake?"

"Can't sleep." Anna replied, her voice calm and level.

Elsa stayed silent.

"Who's Olaf?"

Elsa felt her breath hitch. "He's uh, he's not anyone." She glanced down at her bed, the weight of his tiny body now gone.

"Could you turn the light on?"

Her voice was shaky and quiet, but she didn't think this a conversation to be had in the dark.

Anna paused.

"Um, no. I cant."

"You… can't." Elsa repeated, as more of a statement than a question. She felt around on the table next to her, straining her arm to find the light switch in the unfamiliar space. It flickered on, and her eyes adjusted to find Anna in the exact same position she had last seen her in, staring at the ceiling.

"Who's Olaf?" She repeated.

Elsa sighed, pulling the blankets up to her chin as she curled in on herself.

"He's my little brother. Was. Is." Her eyes darted across the room, to see Anna still unmoving. Not being able to read her for emotion was making Elsa even more uneasy than the conversation itself.

"Could you look at me? This is, um, it's a little too personal to be devoid of eye contact."

"I physically can't."

Elsa didn't speak, not sure whether to be frightened or offended. Or if either of those was even correct.

Anna sighed, closing her eyes for a long moment.

"I'm in restraints."

Elsa almost laughed. "Wait, what?"

The sound of thumping ensured Elsa that she was telling the truth, and she swung her legs around to sit on the edge of the bed, tentatively leaning forward to get a closer look.

"You gonna untie me or what?"

"I, um, am I supposed- like, am I allowed to?"

Anna laughed, pulling at the restraints uncomfortably.

"Come on, it's four in the morning. We're not gonna get any sleep. It's fine."

Trusting in the girl's words, Elsa walked over to the bed, pulling back the covers slightly to reveal Anna's tightly bound hands.

"Shit," She breathed as she moved to untie them. "That can't be comfortable."

"It's not the best," Anna shrugged, her now free arm stretching gratefully. She sat up and smiled after both of her hands were untied.

"I can get the others." She cheerfully pushed away the covers and untied her ankle restraints, unreasonably cheerful for someone who had to be tied up to sleep, before practically bouncing out of bed, stretching her arms above her head. Elsa tried not to notice the way her pyjama top rode up slightly, revealing the tiniest sliver of her perfectly toned stomach.

"So," Anna settled back down on the edge of her bed, as Elsa climbed back onto hers, crossing her legs.

"Who's Olaf? He's your brother?" She posed the question again, and Elsa raised an eyebrow.

"We're not gonna talk about the restraints?"

Anna laughed slightly.

"Maybe just your thing for tonight."

The empty space waiting to be filled by her words tugged at something inside Elsa. She'd never been given such an opportunity to talk about it. Him. Herself. This was all new, revealing herself so soon to someone who was still practically a stranger but somehow felt like someone she'd known for her whole life. She smiled slightly, hoping that her gratefulness would continue to win over her unease.

"I am… schizophrenic." She paused, waiting for an extreme reaction for the girl opposite her. She didn't get one, only a slight sympathetic smile and an encouraging nod to continue.

"It started three years ago. I was eighteen… and stupid. Really, really stupid." She moved backwards, leaning against the wall as she subconsciously gave in and allowed herself to relax, letting the words just fall out.

"He was six. The sweetest little thing. He had the biggest brown eyes that could just see into your soul, and you just couldn't help but to feel joy around him. There was this one night. My parents were out, I was supposed to be watching him. I had some friends over after he went to bed, and we got drunk." She stopped, squeezing her eyes closed, gathering the strength for the next part.

"One of my friends, this guy Hercules. He wanted to take out my dad's van and I just, I knew it wasn't a good idea. But they all wanted to, so I just, I just gave them the keys, and got in. It was so fucking stupid. None of us could drive. We were just so drunk, four of us crammed into the front seat, spinning it around the road, not even really looking. Olaf… He'd gotten up, he'd had a nightmare, and he'd come to… to find me."

Her head fell into her hands as she felt herself start to sob.

"We hit him. We hit him with the fucking van. This tiny little six year old boy. Hit by a huge fucking van." The tears were falling freely, her words catching in her throat. She barely noticed Anna move across the room to wrap her in a hug.

"He died on impact. I just… I just remember him… just lying there. But not even there anymore. It's so blurred but…"

"Shhh," Anna whispered soothingly. "You don't have to keep going if you don't want to."

Elsa took a moment to gather herself, wiping her eyes, breathing slowly.

"I wasn't found liable," Her voice was hostile now, distant, as though she had taken herself out of the situation and looked upon it as someone else. She leaned into Anna's embrace, unknowingly finding strength in it.

"Just drunk and disorderly. Hercules was- he was the one who was actually, physically driving. And after all of that, I just wasn't myself. My mom left. My dad never looked at me the same… I never looked at myself the same. After a while, I stopped seeing him as the body in the road, and how he was before. But… _really_ seeing him."

The room fell silent for a little too long, and Elsa looked up at Anna, still wrapped up in her arms. Her eyes grew frightened, suddenly aware of all that had just spilled out of her. She instantly recoiled, shifting, trying to get away from Anna, who pulled her back.

"Don't run away, Elsa." Her arms stayed firm around the shaking girl's shoulders.

"You don't have to run away from me."

She moved back slightly to look Elsa in the eye, though hers were still watery.

She cupped her face with one hand, smiling reassuringly as she wiped away a stray tear that fell.

"You don't have to be afraid."

With that, Elsa fell into Anna, in more ways than she could have known. Burying her face in the girl's shoulders, she felt the tiny arms that wrapped around her become an anchor, a lifeline, a comfort she'd never known before. She felt all her walls falling down around her.

She felt… _safe._

* * *

**A/N: Hi! Three chapters in, I thought it was time to introduce myself. I don't use my real name here, but you can call me KC. I'm new to actually posting my stories online so this is kind of a new experience for me, so thank you so much for reading/following etc and all the kind words :) **

**This story is just about to really kick off and get interesting, so I hope you stick with me! I'm excited about where it's going. This chapter might feel like the story is moving too fast or, you know, too big of an angst explosion for this early on in the plot (or not, I don't know how you guys will feel about it) but it's for a reason, trust me. So I look forward to hearing what you guys think :)**

**Thanks for reading xo**


	4. Chapter 4

Anna was seated alone in her usual seat in the lounge, a bowl of coco pops in her lap, watching an early morning cartoons marathon when she heard quiet footsteps approach.

"Hi Elsa," She greeted without turning, her mouth full.

Elsa frowned, resigning to a normal walk rather than the silent tiptoe she had been practicing.

"How'd you know it was me?"

Anna laughed as the blonde huffed, collapsing onto the sofa opposite her.

"Nobody else here is that graceful," Her eyes stayed glued to the TV, seemingly engrossed in the fifty-year-old adventures of _Tom & Jerry_.

"And the only person who ever tries to sneak up on me is Hans, and he always gives himself away with this ridiculous, pleased-with-himself, maniacal laugh."

She rolled her eyes at the thought, her eyes then falling on the clock.

"Hey, it's only six. Why are you up so early?" She looked at Elsa now, turning her body slightly to indicate that she now had her full attention.

"… Seriously?" Elsa raised her eyebrows sceptically at the redhead, who smiled and shrugged, seemingly oblivious. She had hoped that Anna would bring up the previous night first, to save her the embarrassment of apologizing or trying to explain- but Anna didn't seem to need an apology or an explanation. She was settled and comfortable with Elsa and what she knew about her, which, in context, was very little but all of the things she liked the least about herself.

"What's your favourite colour?" Anna asked, out of the blue, her attention diverted back to the TV.

"Uh, blue." Elsa shuffled in some combination of annoyance and discomfort at the silence that followed. Anna's tendency to jump between subjects and leave words to linger in space without response was one trait Elsa had found that she didn't like about the girl; the lack of closure making her uneasy.

"Why?"

Anna's eyes flickered back and forth between Elsa and the cartoons, eventually settling on Elsa, leaning back to look at her properly, spoon still hanging from her mouth.

"I tho-" The spoon fell from her mouth mid-sentence, evoking a giggle from Elsa. Anna smiled at the sound and sat up straight to face the blonde, growing enthusiastic.

"I thought you might wanna start decorating your room today. I mean, the sooner it feels like home, the better."

Elsa didn't respond, instead opting to look at her hands as the idea that she could be here for a very long time settled in her mind. These thoughts, however, were blocked out by thoughts of pen on paper, of brush and paint, of Anna's face scrunched up in concentration as she followed the guidelines sketched across the surface.

"Okay," She moved to get up, and Anna watched her eyes grow wide and bright in anticipation, such a wonderful contrast to the unstoppable agony she'd seen in them just a few hours ago.

"I'm gonna go sketch some-" Elsa paused, catching herself and clearing her throat. "I'm gonna, um, maybe draw some designs. For the wall, I mean."

Anna laughed at the helpless attempt to hide her enthusiasm, nodding at her encouragingly before watching the girl bound down the hall towards their room.

_Our room. Maybe that doesn't sound so bad._

* * *

"Hey Elsa, I found some pai-" What Anna found upon returning to their bedroom an hour later, was certainly not what she had expected. It was beyond what she could have even dreamed of seeing. Elsa was pressed against the wall as she stood on her bed, eyes narrowed in concentration, her hand swirling seemingly effortlessly across the surface in flawless, intricate patterns. The sight of the girl so completely lost in her art, unaware of everything else around her, filled Anna's mind with thoughts of a slightly younger, slightly more lost Elsa burying herself in her artwork to escape from herself. It was both comforting and heartbreaking.

She had sketched a giant snowflake, stunningly detailed in perfect symmetry, with swirls of smaller flakes in various patterns surrounding it. It was completely breathtaking, quite literally stopping Anna in her tracks.

"_Holy shit_."

Elsa blinked, falling back to reality at the sound of Anna's voice.

"Oh," She glanced up and stepped off the bed, looking from Anna to the wall, slightly embarrassed.

"Is it okay?"

Anna laughed at the question as she dropped the cans of paint to step closer. Elsa's face fell slightly, despite her attempts to hide it.

"No, I mean, no, it's unbelievable! It's so beautiful, Elsa, how did you do this? And so quickly?"

She stepped forward to kneel on the bed, trailing a finger across the delicate pattern.

"I'm, um, well," Elsa curled her hand in front of her mouth, embarrassed.

"It's just, um. It's like a combination of art and math. They both just always made sense to me."

Anna looked back at the girl in amazement, and grinned at what she saw. Elsa was much less graceful now, with graphite smudged across her cheeks and her hair sticking up at the front, her braid loose and lopsided.

She noticed Anna staring and turned away, embarrassed, rubbing at her face in attempt to clean it, but only making it worse.

"You look great."

Still not looking at the other girl, she felt herself flush, burying her face in her hands. Anna wondered if she could possibly get any cuter.

"Hey, come here." Her amused smile still present, she stood in front of the blushing blonde, smoothing her hair back into place for her.

"You look _great_." Her hands lingered near Elsa's face for longer than was really necessary; taking a moment to admire the girl's striking features so close.

"Sorry. Um," She cleared her throat awkwardly, before spinning around to pick up the paint cans.

"Shall we get to work?"

* * *

Several hours of brush and paint had dissolved into tired, half-hearted strokes of colour and light conversation as the girls sat on Elsa's bed.

"Lazy," Anna joked as Elsa dropped her brush onto the plastic-covered sheets, yawning.

"Oh please," She grinned before picking the brush back up, twirling it between her fingers. "I did _all_ the work here."

"Oh yeah?" Anna's eyes glittered with mischief, trailing the brush down the wall whilst still staring at Elsa, eventually slowing to a stop.

Before Elsa could react, Anna had leaped across the bed and left a very intentional streak of royal blue across her face.

"Nope!" Elsa swiped at Anna with her own paintbrush, missing as the redhead yelped and jumped off of the bed. Elsa ran after her, grabbing her by the waist from behind as she ran across the room, sending them both crashing to the floor in fits of laughter. Elsa lifted herself up with her arms either side of Anna's head, leaning over her.

"Well," She smiled calmly as she picked up the brush and trailed it across Anna's cheek, though she stayed there, squirming, bubbles of laughter falling from her lips.

"I'd call that even." Anna only grinned up at the girl, eyes shining. Elsa lingered there, their faces mere inches apart, just looking at her.

_She's beautiful._

"What the HELL-"

The sound of the door crashing open sent Elsa reeling across the room, looking up to see Kristoff storm in with a ridiculously large orderly, shattering the moment entirely.

"Wait, what?" Anna pushed herself up, nearly toppling over halfway before leaning on her bed for support.

"What's going on? You brought Oaken?"

Kristoff looked around the room frantically, looking for something that wasn't there.

"I thought- I heard you scream, I mean-"

His eyes fell on Elsa, who had recoiled to the corner.

"I thought she…"

"No, Kristoff. No." All of the concern and optimism had fallen from Anna's voice, leaving only hostility. It struck something deep within Elsa, and she wondered if this side of Anna was part of what she was hiding from her. Her eyes fell to Anna's bed, neatly made, restraints tucked away and hidden. Masking its secrets.

"That's not fair. We were _laughing_." Anna glanced at Elsa, whose eyes were wide with concern, and a hint of fear that pulled at Anna's heart, her anger growing more intense.

"Get out. We're gonna talk."

She turned to the orderly who still stood near the door she had ushered the boy out of, appearing worried but not dutifully so, now it was clear that there was no threat.

"I'm sorry, Mr Oaken. He overreacted, so sorry to bother you, I mean, I-"

"Anna," He cut her off, smiling gently as she blushed, grateful to be saved from the oncoming ramble.

"No problem. You go." He turned to Elsa, smiling warmly.

"You are settling in nicely, ya?"

She could only nod, and received one in return before Oaken stepped out. Elsa exhaled, pulling her knees up to her chest.

_Control yourself, damn it. It's only been one day._

* * *

"Kristoff!" Anna raced to catch up to the boy, who was storming down the hall.

"What is your problem?"

He turned around, towering over her, though it may not have been intentional.

"I was _worried_, Anna. You don't know her, _I_ don't know her! She could be _totally nuts_. She could have been hurting you!"

"She _would not_ hurt me." The fierce confidence in Anna's statement gave Kristoff pause, and he gave her a quizzical look.

"You don't know that. Do you even know why she's in here?"

"I know enough."

Kristoff sighed, resigning to not asking any more questions about Elsa. He knew Anna well enough to know she wouldn't give him any more answers.

"What were you doing in there anyway?"

Anna evaded his eyes. "Painting. Having fun."

She sighed, hating the feeling of fighting with her best friend.

"Look, Kristoff. I don't wanna fight with you. But I need you to trust her. And I need you to trust _me_."

He stayed silent, nodding, eyes cast to the floor.

"Can you just… What's she like?" His voice was level now, his eyes kind. Anna could read him easily after being together for so long, and finding the question to be as innocent as it seemed, she softened.

"She's incredible."

* * *

**A/N: HELLO! I honestly could not tell you why but I really struggled with this chapter. Idk. **

**I just want to say thanks to everyone for reading/following etc. Almost 50 followers in a few days is crazy haha. **

**Hope you stick with it and keep enjoying it!**

**xo**


	5. Chapter 5

"The fresh air helped. It was starting to feel like I was in a box."

* * *

On the third day, Elsa attended her first therapy session. Mr Oaken, the orderly who had witnessed the incident with Kristoff the day before, had escorted her to a quiet room near the lounge that she hadn't noticed before. It was decorated much more sparsely than the rest of the place; Elsa supposed it was for peace of mind.

Her therapist was a small, older man- Doctor Weselton. He had a very settling presence and Elsa found herself opening up to him much more easily than she had expected- _that_ seemed to be a recurring theme here.

She restrained from telling him anything about Anna, and instead opted to tell him about her walk that morning.

She had slept through the night without any intervention from Olaf, or anything else, though he had accompanied the girls on their walk- but she didn't let Anna know that, of course. She did her best to enjoy the walk and ignore the hurt look on the tiny boy's face- she would apologize to him later.

Elsa felt Anna's eyes on her as she closed her eyes, tilting her head back as she breathed in the fresh air. It felt so natural, simple, easy. She didn't even wish for her to look away.

_You like her._

The words had been bouncing around in the back of Elsa's mind for days, but she'd been doing her best to dodge them. She had more than enough to deal with.

"You can do this every morning, if you want." Her words were soft in the morning air, lighter somehow. "Not for the first few days, is all. Just to make sure you're settled. In case people, you know. In case they bolt."

The idea of that prompted Elsa's eyes to flicker open again, scanning the gardens that surrounded the institute. She hadn't paid much attention on her way in, worrying far too much about what was inside rather than what was around- but if she had, it might have dulled her fears slightly. It was pretty, surprisingly so. It was wide and open, with flowers following the perimeters, their colours stark against the light frost that dusted the grass; a picture of pale spring still clinging to winter's chill. It reminded her of something.

It was actually enclosed, of course. It had to be. But the gates were white and unintimidating, like the kind that surrounded a grand estate. It was all so well thought out and planned- she couldn't help picturing a group of psychologists gathered around, planning out an environment that would be least likely to trigger an 'episode' in a patient. It almost shattered the illusion… But then her gaze fell back to soft eyes and auburn locks, delicate fingers tracing the polished edge of a wooden bench.

_It's perfect._

"What's perfect?"

She jumped, her breath catching in her throat, fearful that she had been speaking out loud. She settled slightly at the sound of tiny feet approaching, her eyes softening as the small boy pushed himself up onto the bench. Elsa stood rigid, her discomfort at Olaf's close proximity to Anna written all over her.

"Elsa, what's wrong?"

She leaned over the back of the bench towards her, concern growing in her eyes. Elsa's eyes widened as Anna moved unknowingly closer to Olaf, but relaxed as she saw the boy shift away from her.

_She can't touch him. He's not real._

She closed her eyes for a long moment, gathering herself, trying to recapture the brief bliss she's experienced just minutes earlier.

"I'm fine," She smiled slightly, forced at first, though growing genuine as the younger girl reached out to take her hand.

"I know."

* * *

"So you didn't tell Anna that Olaf was with you?"

Elsa shifted, her discomfort making the soft cushioning of her seat feel like hard metal.

"No."

The therapist remained level, in his voice and stature, giving nothing away.

"Do you know why?"

"I…" Her words caught in her throat, as she considered how to say them without giving too much away.

_I didn't want to scare her. She already knows too much. She's going to run away. She _can't _run away._

"I just didn't want to freak her out, ruin her walk. You know."

"But she knows about him, about your condition?"

"Yes." The silence made the air feel thick in Elsa's lungs, as though she could explode from all the things she wouldn't say.

"I don't want to scare her away. I want to be friends."

_That's _basically_ true. It's enough._

"Of course, Elsa. But you must remember that everyone here understands. You shouldn't repress yourself. You're here to get better, and you don't have to hide."

She exhaled in relief, appreciative that he didn't linger on the subject of how she felt about Anna- though his words did resonate with her.

_Remember, she's hiding things from you, too._

This thought took over all of her mind's processes, shutting her off entirely from Doctor Weselton's soothing words.

_Why hasn't she told you yet? Why is she in restraints? What is she so afraid of?_

"Elsa."

She blinked, her attention returning to the therapist.

"Um, yeah. Yeah, I'm listening."

She watched a slight smile flit across his face as he repressed a chuckle.

"I'm quite finished. Perhaps you'll have more to say tomorrow."

Elsa nodded as she left her seat, her hands tugging nervously at her braid as her mind filled with thoughts of words she was yet say, and answers she was yet to find.

_Perhaps I will have more to say._

* * *

**A/N: Hi! So, sort of different kind of chapter. A little bit more insight into Elsa's mind, and the institute, and how things work around there. I'm sorry it's so short! College is kicking my ass this week but I have a time tomorrow and Monday to get plenty written for the next chapter (or two). So that should be up soon. Thanks for all the follows/reviews etc, I'm kind of amazed at the reaction this is getting! Never expected so much so soon haha. **

**Okay, I hope you all enjoy this. Again, sorry it's so short. I wanted to get this posted tonight (it's 1am right now oops) and didn't really think it could be any longer than this without feeling dragged out. So yeah, thanks! Hope you all like it!**

**xo**


	6. Chapter 6

When Elsa approached, Anna was perched on the edge of her usual seat in the lounge, leaning towards Kristoff who sat opposite her, both clutching a hand of cards as though their lives depended on it, the occasional competitive glare passing between them. She perched on the other end of the sofa and watched the pair, who hadn't looked up from their game for long enough to notice her. She couldn't fight the smile that spread across her face as she watched Anna's expression, turquoise eyes narrowing in concentration.

"… Hit me again."

"With an eighteen? Are you serious?"

"I said hit me!"

Kristoff rolled his eyes as he slapped another card down in front of the excitable girl, who was practically bouncing in her seat, eyes alight with the need to win.

Anna grinned smugly, leaning back and folding her arms together in triumph after laying her cards out on the table.

"A three. How? _How_?!"

Elsa giggled as Anna raised her arms above her head, basking in her glory.

"Twenty-one, bitches. Like a _pro_."

Kristoff scoffed, rolling his eyes and turning to look at the TV when he noticed the blonde.

"Oh, hey, Elsa." He smiled slightly, his flushed cheeks evidencing his embarrassment over the incident the day before.

"Hi." She shifted on the sofa to get comfortable, instinctively pulling the sleeves of her hoodie over her hands.

"How was your therapy session? Alright?"

She looked up to meet the concerned girl's eyes, nodding sincerely in response.

Anna misread, or assumed she was trying to save face, her eyes growing sympathetic.

"No, really, it was fine." Elsa gave her a small smile before glancing away, her eyes landing upon the TV that was flashing a thousand colours at a headache-inducing speed as Kristoff tapped at the remote. _One hundred and fifty two_, she recalled.

"Are you two telepathic now?"

Elsa giggled, covering her face with her sleeve to hide it.

Anna grinned. "No, I'm just _easy to read_." She raised an eyebrow and smiled mischievously, her eyes darting between Kristoff and the pile of cards strewn across the table.

Kristoff sighed dramatically. "We agreed no more poker even again. Ever. And you're only easy to read when you _want_ to be, damn it."

Elsa watched intently as the two continued to playfully argue, though those words played on her mind.

_Only easy to read when she wants to be. Maybe I haven't been giving her enough credit._

"It's almost twelve! _Where_ is Oaken?!"

Kristoff began to shift in his seat, growing more and more uncomfortable with each minute late the orderly was to dismiss them. He had each and every moment of how each day should go burned into his mind, and every moment that strayed from that plan put him on edge.

"Yoo hoo! Visitation hours!"

The large, cheerful man burst through the door only seconds later, gesturing for them to leave the room.

"Miss Anna, you have visitors today. You are first."

Anna froze in the middle of getting up, staring at nothing, if only for a few seconds.

"Okay!" She perked up almost immediately, smiling at the orderly before settling back down.

Elsa could only stare, her eyes widened in intrigue at the conflict of emotions she'd just seen pass over the girl in a matter of seconds. It both amazed and terrified her how easily she could hide herself- Elsa had spent most of her life trying to do this and had no such luck. She'd spilled her heart out to Anna after barely a day.

_But maybe that's just her._

Anna was many things she couldn't understand, things she'd never seen before; the way she could put someone so terrified of herself and her surroundings at ease almost immediately, her settled attitude, her eyes shining so bright despite the dark circles that lay beneath them.

"Elsa?"

She hadn't noticed she was staring. She flushed upon seeing Anna's quizzical look and darted quickly from the room.

* * *

"How are you doing?"

Anna settled back into her seat, smiling in attempt to hide her discomfort at what felt like an ambush.

"I'm fine, Rapunzel. I really am."

Her cousin only stared at her, eyes equal parts sympathetic and suspicious.

"Are you in therapy?"

Anna sighed, casting her eyes to the floor. She was supposed to call before turning up like this. She was supposed to let her be in control.

"Yes," Anna lied through her teeth, her expression wavering in the charade she was keeping up.

"So that's a no."

She refused to respond and let her eyes wander the room instead; making it obvious to the other girl that she had lost interest in the conversation. Her gaze fell upon a pair of brown eyes peering through the window in the main door. He ducked immediately out of sight.

"Why is Flynn here?"

Anna hadn't taken so well to her cousin's boyfriend, who- through no fault of his own other than being perfectly charming- had stolen Rapunzel from her. In her _time of need._

The blonde grew exasperated, rolling her eyes at the younger girl's bitter tone.

"You know he hasn't done anything wrong, Anna. Despite everything, he actually cares about you a lot. He makes sure I check in on you."

Her eyes fell, a brief sadness capturing her.

"He's helped me through this."

Anna scoffed loudly, her irritation no longer hidden.

"Because this has all been so hard for _you_, Rapunzel! I'm sure it's so difficult, living in your perfect house with your perfect boyfriend and-"

"Fiancé."

Anna froze.

"Perfect _Fiancé_."

Her breathing became shallow as she saw the sharp glint of the ring on her cousin's finger out of the corner of her eyes.

"Well." She evaded her cousin's gaze, not wanting to have to face what an awful, selfish being she really was. There Rapunzel was- a beautiful, kind girl with everything she could have ever dreamed of, deservingly; and all Anna could do was make everything about her. All she could do was interpret this ring, this symbol of her cousin's happiness that she so deeply deserved, as a sign that she was really and truly alone. This girl was the only person on her side, and all she could do was push her away.

"I'm so sorry."

Confused eyes met hers as she realised how those words must have been received.

"You're sorry that I'm engaged to the love of my life?"

"No, no! I mean- no!"

Anna buried her face in her hands, needing the moment of artificial darkness to compose herself, to get the filter between her brain and her mouth to actually comprehensively function for once.

_Your beautiful, wonderful, caring cousin is so happy and you're ruining it for her. You're messing it all up. She could leave so easily, she doesn't need you like you need her. Be fucking nice._

"I mean- I mean I'm sorry for being such an ass. I'm happy for you. You deserve to be so happy. Thank you for coming to see me. I'm sorry. I love you so much. I'm sorry. I love you. I'm sorry."

She wasn't sure when she started crying or why all she could do was repeat herself as Rapunzel walked over and wrapped her arms around her younger cousin's shaking frame.

"I'm not going to leave." The words were whispered so quietly Anna wasn't sure if she had really heard them.

_Yes you are._

* * *

"Where_ is_ she?"

Elsa noticed Kristoff's unease as they wandered the long halls of the institute, searching for Anna. Visitation hours were long over and they were about to be called for dinner- but Anna had been nowhere to be seen all day. Kristoff played with his fingers absently, an awkward jump in his step as he fretted over this potential change. He'd eaten with Anna every day since he'd been there.

Elsa peered around the door to the gardens, unsure if she was even allowed to go out there, when a flash of red hair caught her attention.

Anna was sitting alone on a bench at the far end of the gardens, a single white flower plucked from the ground trembling between her fingers.

"Anna?"

The girl looked around quickly, dropping the flower before turning away again- presumably to compose herself. She smiled at the two blondes, who stared at her wide-eyed, as she made her way back over to the building, the spring in her step seeming ever so slightly off.

Anna stayed that way for the rest of the evening- smiling, bright and beautiful, as she always was, but with something gone amiss that plagued Elsa's mind as she tried to place it.

* * *

"You good?" Kristoff smiled as he tugged on the restraints he had just fastened to Anna's wrists.

"Define good." She mumbled, her grouchiness impossible to hide, particularly as a yawn she was physically incapable of stifling followed.

"You haven't been sleeping, have you?" His voice was lowered now, equal parts cautious and concerned as his eyes flitted between the tied-up girl and the open door, aware that Elsa might return at any moment.

"How could I?"

Kristoff rolled his eyes and glanced over at the other side of the room- taking a brief moment to appreciate the art he had overlooked the day before in all his haste- then noticing the earmuffs discarded on Elsa's bed.

"She's been wearing those? The earmuffs?"

She nodded.

"And she's slept through the night... So what's the issue?"

Anna sighed, exhausted both physically and emotionally.

"There isn't one, I mean, anymore. But I had to… be… sure…"

Her words began to trail off as her eyelids drooped. Kristoff only chuckled, prodding at the restraints once more to ensure they were secure, before dragging the duvet over the half-asleep girl before leaving, nodding at Elsa on his way out.

Elsa couldn't help her surprise upon returning to the room and finding Anna asleep; she'd been wide awake at all times for the past two days- at least when Elsa had seen her, she had assumed she'd slept at some point in the night. But she looked incredibly peaceful, and somehow happier than she had throughout the day, particularly after her visitation. She smiled as she climbed into her own bed, silently grateful to have someone like Anna to help her get through this experience.

* * *

_What in the holy fucking hell is that noise?_

Elsa woke up suddenly; feeling as though she was having a heart attack as her ears were met by what she felt must be equivalent to an army of screaming banshees. She covered her ears with her hands as her eyes adjusted, trying to find the source of the god-awful noise as she moved to leave her bed. She blinked, fumbling around for the light switch before turning it on, the room flooding with light to reveal the writhing, fighting form that filled the other bed, her screams filling the room.

"Holy shit, Anna!"

Elsa ran to the other side of the room, her sleep-riddled mind trying to make sense of the situation. Her hands reached instinctively for the girl, though she stopped herself-

_Sleepwalking. That's what she's doing, right? Sleep… fighting? You're not supposed to wake sleepwalkers. Shit._

She let herself slump to the floor, curling in on herself, leaning against the side of the distressed girl's bed.

_Fuck, Anna. Fuck. _

_… At least that explains the earmuffs._

She buried her face in her hands, getting used to the ungodly sound now, entirely overwhelmed.

Unconsciously, she reached for Anna's hand, catching it in her own and threading their fingers together, hardly noticing as the screams began to slowly subside.

_Oh, Anna. What happened to you?_

* * *

A/N: Hi! I'm sorry it's been so long (especially after such a short chapter last time, oops). I've been in and out of hospital this week and college work has been crazy so I've hard hardly any time ugh. But thanks for reading, and the patience! Hope you like the chapter xo

Edit: Forgot to say, changed my pen name from elsarendelle to this due to some anonymity issues. My computer is now on lockdown lol


	7. Chapter 7

Anna awoke to an undeniable feeling that something was different. As her eyes adjusted to the morning light, she noticed that the constant pressing feeling at the back of her head was slightly dimmed, and her heart beat slower than usual. She felt ever so slightly less disgusted by the sight of her bedroom ceiling. So used to the feeling of stiff nylon restricting her movement, she barely even noticed the extra weight in her right hand, the fingers laced lazily between hers. Blinking slowly, she turned her head to be met by loose locks of platinum draped across the edge of her mattress. She sighed contentedly at the sight; Elsa was tucked against the bed in a deep sleep, her head resting on the edge of the mattress. Anna took a few moments to enjoy the moment, to admire how effortlessly beautiful the girl was, how at peace she felt just listening to her breathing.

Breathing.

Anna's own breath hitched as she fell into full-fledged panic.

_Elsa knows. She _knows_. What did she see? What did I do? What did I _say_? Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck._

Her free hand pulled frantically at its restraint as her breathing grew faster, and the inexplicable feeling of impending doom began to take over her whole body as she shook.

"Anna? Anna, what is it?"

Elsa had awoken with a shock at the sound of the girl's panic, her breathing erratic, limbs fighting against their restraints.

"Anna it's alright, it's okay," Breathless words of comfort left her lips as she rushed to free the panicking girl, desperate to remove the look of terror from her eyes.

Anna rushed to stand up as soon as she was freed, almost tripping over her own feet in her rush to get out of the room, avoiding Elsa in the process.

"Anna!" She yelled after the girl, stumbling out into the hallway to watch her run off. Elsa sighed, exasperated, as she slowly stepped back into the room, sitting on the edge of Anna's bed. She ran her hands through her unruly hair, trying to process what had just happened in her still sleep-induced haze.

* * *

Elsa didn't see her for the rest of the day. She ate lunch alone, after realising that Kristoff was probably with Anna, wherever it was she chose to hide. She sighed as she pushed food around her plate absentmindedly, letting her eyes travel around the room.

"Why are you all alone?"

Elsa shrank in on herself, crossing one arm across her chest, the other propped upon the table, a hand covering her face.

_Not now._

She could feel sad eyes staring through her as she attempted to ignore the presence next to her.

"Where is Anna?"

She stared at the table, her plate, her hand- anywhere else.

"Ignoring things doesn't make it go away, Elsa. You know that."

She sighed at the small voice, eventually turning to face him.

"I don't want everyone to know about you, Olaf." She whispered, her head down, completely aware of all the eyes in the room. They seemed otherwise occupied.

"They don't matter." The boy moved closer, his voice shifting to a whisper.

"Anna does."

Elsa squeezed her eyes shut, silently willing the boy to go away before she gave up, pushing her plate away and standing up to leave. She hurried down the hall, almost running in her haste to get out of sight, to talk it out with Olaf like she used to, when she was stopped abruptly in her tracks, just barely stopping herself from falling face-first. She recoiled, stepping backwards before looking up to meet menacing eyes.

"Elsa."

It felt like more of a statement than an address, and so she didn't answer.

"Where is Anna?"

She raised an eyebrow instinctively at the boy who was stood over her, clearly an intimidation tactic.

"I don't know. Why?"

He scoffed, and began to pace back and forth in front of her, hands behind his back.

"Well, it seems to me that you are encroaching upon my kingdom."

Elsa watched him curiously as he moved- his expression was plain, absent of any amusement or falsity, his poise and posture reminiscent of his self-proclaimed royal status.

"I am… encroaching… on your… _kingdom_?"

"Yes," He continued to move with an admirable yet frightening grace, circling her like a vulture.

"I need you to stay away from Anna."

Elsa almost laughed. She remembered what Anna had said about Hans' delusions, his royal fantasies, his anger issues… maybe there was more to it.

"Anna is my roommate. I can't do that, I don't even have a choice."

_But I definitely wouldn't want to, either._

He lunged forward, suddenly so close, his eyes boring into hers. It felt like being held at gunpoint.

"You will _try_."

He moved backwards, and she shuddered, clutching at the sleeves of her hoodie nervously. He turned to leave, but Elsa found her curiosity to outweigh her fear.

"Why?"

He turned back, staring at her quizzically.

"Why should I stay away from her?"

His face hardened, and she couldn't read him.

_Curiosity killed the cat._

He sighed, looking at the ceiling and then back to Elsa.

"Those are royal matters… they don't concern you."

His words were manipulated to sound final, but he lingered, and she sensed that he had more to say.

He stepped closer again, long assured strides, asserting his _royal status_ through his every movement. His voice was lowered.

"She is to be my queen."

_Satisfaction brought it back. _

He turned and walked swiftly back down the hallway without looking back. Elsa couldn't seem to take her eyes off of him; he had such a presence, somehow terrifying yet endearing.

_He didn't seem so very royal when he was ravaging that sandwich the other day._

_There's more to this._

With that thought, she returned to her bedroom, wondering what exactly she'd walked into here.

* * *

"I just don't understand it, Kristoff. I felt so… relaxed."

A light wind blew through Anna's hair, launching a gradual ambush on her loosely tied braids. She wasn't particularly concerned about it. A weak sunlight accompanied it, soft and easy, as though painted across canvas with a brush slightly too wet. She hid from it. She had been sat on the bench for longer than she'd realised- maybe it was the quiet, or the pleasant solitary, or the soft hum of the springtime breeze, but she didn't want to move.

"That's not what you wanted to say."

Kristoff had joined her after some time- he knew where to find her. She often resigned herself to this shady spot behind the institute when she needed to be alone, or at least away. She found herself silently wishing he hadn't found her; she wasn't in the mood for words of wisdom, to be told what she was thinking.

"Is that so?" It was barely a question. She knew he was right, simply trying to prolong her denial.

"You wanted to say safe. You felt safe."

She sighed, her head falling, staring at her hands.

"I don't use that word."

"Because you don't understand it."

Kristoff stared at her, sympathetic, but tired of seeing Anna actively run from and avoid everything that could possibly be good for her- he'd only managed to forge a friendship through sheer force of will.

"Anna, you need to stop running. She cares about you. She's not freaked out. That's _good_."

"Not for her."

Her mind was filled with thoughts of the future, of dragging Elsa down, influencing her in her own reluctance to get help- or worse; she knew what she was capable of.

As much as she hated to admit it, she'd gotten comfortable in the way she was. She'd made peace with living in the institute, being tied up at night, waking up at the crack of dawn so nobody heard her scream. She was fine.

_This is as good as it's going to get._

"Do you want to be like this forever, Anna?"

Silence.

"We're not all gonna be here forever. Do you want to watch people come and go, getting better, moving on, while you stay the same?"

Silence.

"I know you don't believe it, but you can get better. If you just _try_."

She stayed silent, staring off at nothing until he left. She knew his routine, and he wasn't one to waste time waiting for an answer. Knowing her well enough, he hadn't expected one. Left alone once again, her gaze fell upon the flower patch near her feet. They were thin and drooping, almost grey in colour, disadvantaged by their spot in almost permanent shade.

_Why would someone plant these here? They didn't even give them a chance._

* * *

It wasn't until the evening that Elsa saw Anna again, and she'd been starting to think irrationally.

_What if she got so freaked out she's run away, out of the institute? What if she's hiding from me? What if she's asking for a different roommate?_

She sighed, starting to pace the room again.

_Bouncing these thoughts off of your hallucination dead little brother probably isn't helping either._

She shook her head, trying to shake herself out of it, and instead resigning to just go for dinner early- any kind of distraction from herself would do.

Anna was seated alone at her usual table when Elsa saw her. She looked focused, like she was psyching herself up for something. An unfamiliar feeling of dread crept over Elsa's skin at the thought Anna might be nervous, or even scared around her. She couldn't imagine it. The redhead didn't look up until Elsa was seating opposite her, staring at her in a manner of inquisition. She didn't need to say anything.

"I'm sorry." All of the nervous concentration seemed to dissolve from Anna's face as she began to speak, replaced by an apologetic and genuine smile. "I freaked out. I don't know. I mean I'm not used to sharing a room, or talking to people, or anyone knowing about, well, you know. I guess I just didn't know how to react. It's kind of an instinct. I'm not good with change, I mean it wasn't your fault, that was nice, I'm just sorry. I hope I didn't scare you off." She looked up to see an amused smile on Elsa's face.

"What?"

"Nothing, it's just…" A fond grin crept over her face. "You talk _so_ much."

Anna rolled her eyes, smiling back at the blonde. She was relaxed now, realising that speaking to Elsa was easy. Everything came naturally around her.

"Well, I already told you that. You could have easily shut me up."

"Oh," Elsa raised an eyebrow; her eyes alight with a hint of mischief.

"And how exactly would I do that?"

"…Maybe you could start by holding my hand again."

* * *

**A/N: Hi! I'm sorry about the wait being so long, I've been in bed all week with a virus and I barely trusted my ability to write coherently until yesterday (I mean, it's still iffy now, but I'm hoping for the best). & I got a few messages after the last chapter asking if I was okay because I mentioned the hospital, I didn't mean to freak anyone out haha I'm fine. Anyway, all is good now, should be picking up the pace with updates (but don't quote me on that, I have a long history of sucking with deadlines). So yeah, hope you all enjoy, thanks for sticking with it!**

**Sidenote: 100+ followers! Holy shit you guys rule.**

**xo**


	8. Chapter 8

The next day, Anna awoke the same way: to Elsa draped over the side of her bed, to their intertwined hands and the settling sound of her breathing. She closed her eyes again, sighing contentedly, playing with Elsa's fingers absentmindedly as she tried to get used to the feeling of being rested.

_It's like she has some sort of magic touch. _

She frowned as the thought entered her mind, instinctively relinquishing her hold on the sleeping girl's hand.

_That's stupid. That's so…_

She sighed again, annoyed by her own instincts as she laced her fingers with the blonde's once again.

_Stop thinking about it. Just enjoy it._

Her eyes had just begun to drift close again when she felt Elsa start to stir. She watched as the girl sat up, rubbing her eyes and pushing her hair out of her face- to no avail.

_That's adorable._

She hadn't realised she was smiling until blue eyes fell on her, and she blushed. Elsa smiled back at her, looking down at their hands.

"You're not freaking out this time."

"I guess I'm not." She evaded her gaze, trying to hide her smile as Elsa shifted, releasing her hand to stretch.

"You don't have to do this, you know." She muttered, half hoping that she couldn't hear her.

"I know." Elsa only smiled as she leaned over to untie Anna's restraints, collapsing onto her own bed once she was done.

"Are you going to do it every night, though?"

Elsa looked at her confusion, a brief hint of hurt passing over her features.

"Oh, no, I just mean, um, it can't be comfortable. For you. If you want to keep doing it we should, like, push your bed over, or something."

"Oh!" Elsa relaxed, the easy smile returning as she glanced from Anna's bed to her own and back.

"Yeah. Yeah, okay."

"I mean I do appreciate it." Anna evaded her roommate's eyes as she felt her cheeks flush.

"I, um. Well I'm gonna… go… yeah." She stuttered as she slowly waked out of the room, leaving Elsa smiling on the other side of the door.

_Oh, man._

Elsa rolled over to lay on her front, crossing her arms over the back of her head as she buried her face in the pillow, trying to hide the stupid grin on her face.

_You've got it _so_ bad._

* * *

"What exactly do you do when she has her… what did you call them?"

"Uh, I think they're night terrors?"

Elsa twiddled with her thumbs as she spoke, her therapist's expression never wavering to give any indication of a reaction to her words.

"Isn't that what they're called? Night terrors?"

"I couldn't say. I don't treat Miss Anna."

Elsa had to stop herself from laughing.

_Miss Anna._

Her therapy session had commenced barely a few seconds before she'd began babbling about Anna, words and confessions flying out in a way that was completely unlike her. She wasn't a sharer.

_Or maybe you don't know yourself at all. Wait, what?_

"Anyway, I, I just hold her hand. And it helps. I don't know why. Maybe it's like when sick babies do better when they're held? I don't know. But it helps."

"And what about you?"

She frowned, confused.

"What do you mean?"

"How does it affect _you_?"

She cleared her throat, trying to buy time as she wrapped her head around that idea.

"Uhh… I don't know. I guess, I guess I like helping her?"

Dr Weselton nodding, making a noise of neither acceptance nor disapproval, just one that showed her he was listening and that she should continue.

_I know you're listening. It's what you're paid for._

She stayed silent against his unspoken cue, letting her eyes dart across the room. It was so different from the rest of the institute: painted a light beige instead of the sharp white that coated the rest of the building, sparsely decorated with the doctor's certificates on one wall and a single painting of a pot of flowers on the one opposite. The only furniture was the white sofa that Elsa was seated on, the doctor's leather office chair and the small table between them. Upon it were his notes, and two plastic cups of water- they didn't use glasses in the institute, Elsa had noticed. It was a subtle precaution, but it served as a reminder of where she was, and why she was there. She was different, weird, unstable- and so was everyone else. So was Anna.

"Are you sleeping, even when you help Anna?"

"I'm… yeah."

She stared at her hands, mumbling half-hearted answers to the therapist, thrown by the sudden realism of her situation. She felt homesick, somehow, despite being sick to death of her home.

"Elsa?" As though on cue, the tiny voice met her ears.

She exhaled deeply, her eyelids suddenly heavy as she looked up at the man opposite her, before glancing back down to be met by Olaf.

She turned her head, trying to ignore him, desperate for him to go away until later. She didn't want Dr Weselton to know he was there; she didn't want him to play with her mind, to change how she felt about him, her little brother.

"Elsa?" His voice was soft and careful in recognition of her discomfort.

"Is he here?"

She grimaced, dropping her face into her hands and pushing, trying to somehow magic herself out of this situation.

"This is good, Elsa. We can try some things. Look at him-"

"No."

Her voice was hard now, stern and unfaltering. She felt a sudden surge of protectiveness wash over her, her every breath filled with an unexplained anger.

"No, I can't do that."

Somehow unable to control her actions, she got up and left the room in a swift and certain movement, not questioning herself until she was leaning against the closed door.

_What just happened?_

She had been overcome by an instinct she'd almost forgotten that she had, something she hadn't felt since- well, since Olaf. She sighed, leaning her head back against the door. She'd hit her wall with therapy- she was surprised it had taken this long, honestly. She didn't want to overcome her problems, she didn't want to get rid of Olaf: she wasn't ready to let him go.

* * *

Returning from her somewhat brief therapy session, Elsa walked into the lounge to find Anna and Kristoff playing cards- it was routine, of course. Feeling for the first time since they'd met that she didn't want to see Anna, she quickly slipped out, nodding at an orderly near the door as she stepped outside. She let her feet carry her down long paths through the carefully kept gardens, her mind blank as she looked upon rows of pale blue flowers shivering in the light wind. Uncomfortably aware of the small boy trailing behind her, she eventually slowed, allowing him to walk next to her.

"Hey, Olaf."

He smiled up at her, offering her a small flower.

"Thank you." Her own smile was fake, her eyes watery in her painful awareness of what Olaf really was.

_He's not there. You're fucking crazy._

She squeezed her eyes shut, wishing that the ground would just swallow her up, before a soft voice interrupted the almost overwhelming silence.

"Hey."

Elsa looked up with wide eyes to be met by the last person she'd expected.

Hans was leaning against the side of the building, a cigarette balanced between his lips, his expression sympathetic. She shivered as she watched him exhale a heavy breath of menthol.

_Didn't realise I missed it that much._

He seemed to read her easily as he reached into his pocket for the packet and holding it out to her.

"You want one?"

She approached him slowly, her scepticism perfectly clear. He sighed, looking at the floor briefly.

"I've already been an ass to you, haven't I? Fuck, I'm sorry. Whatever I did, it wasn't me. I mean it was, but…" He trailed off as he inhaled again.

"I guess you know how it is."

Elsa was only half listening, her brain occupied by the thick smoke falling from his lips.

He smiled, holding the packet out towards her.

"Seriously, take one. I'm not gonna, you know, _smite_ you or anything."

Somehow his easy demeanour and self-deprecating humour manage to settle her, and she smiled slightly before sliding a cigarette out of the packet being offered to her.

"So you're Elsa, right? You're new?" He asked as he handed her a lighter. She nodded, brows furrowed as she watched the small flame flicker into existence with a flick of her thumb.

"So what, did I threaten you? Call you a peasant? Challenge you to a duel?"

She smiled, crossing her arms as she leaned against the wall, surprised at her own ease around him- Anna certainly hadn't mentioned that he could be a nice guy.

"Something like that," She smiled at him through the smoke that rose from her mouth- she was visibly settled now, but her eyes showed that she was still sizing him up, her suspicion lingering.

"Well, whatever it was, I'm sorry. I'm not always like that."

She watched him closely as he moved, dropping his cigarette stub on the floor and stepping gracefully over it to put it out.

"I'll try my best not to smite you, or overthrow your government, or whatever."

She continued to stare as he began to walk away, only stopping to turn back and smile sheepishly, giving her a small wave.

She almost laughed at the stark contrast between this Hans and the one she had met before; one moving with an ease and accidental grace, the other with a calculated, almost mechanical step. She wondered if the latter's enamourment with Anna was something the former shared.

"Him and me both," She muttered to herself, before stubbing out her cigarette and walking away.

* * *

"Hey! How was therapy?"

Anna had practically pounced on Elsa as she walked back into the lounge, in an even more chipper mood than usual, which Elsa supposed was due to the magic of sleep.

"It was fine," She smiled back, barely thinking about the lie as it fell from her lips, her focus on the hand entangling with her own. "Is that why you stink of cigarettes?" Anna whispered, her lips precariously close to Elsa's neck.

"I'm, uh…"

Anna smirked, clearly enjoying torturing the nervous blonde. Elsa caught on and relaxed, falling in to the playful atmosphere of Anna's presence.

"Doctor Weselton is very generous."

"Ha!" Anna laughed, throwing her head back. Elsa could only watch her with admiration- this girl was a force of nature she just couldn't pull away from, and wouldn't ever want to.

"Come on! Movie night!" She grinned, holding Elsa's hand with both of hers and walking backwards to the sofa; where she sat so close to the other girl that she was nearly on her lap.

"What are you doing?"

Anna was shuffling against Elsa's side with a questionable ferocity as the opening credits were starting, warranting a laugh from the blonde.

"Elsa, you are the worst."

"What?"

Elsa could only laugh as Anna sighed dramatically, forcefully lifting Elsa's arm over her shoulder.

"Was that so much to ask?" She muttered as she settled against her, trying to hide her blush.

"You're an idiot, Anna."

"You love it."

_Oh, you have no idea._

* * *

**A/N: OKAY there is seriously nothing I can say to excuse making you wait, what, three weeks (?) for this, but here it is, at last. I am seriously sorry about the wait, I have a ton of work/exams but I've had this half done for a while so it's basically just that I'm a huge procrastinator/asshole oops. Anyway, I have you enjoy! Thanks for sticking with it if you haven't given up waiting by now lmao, I'll try my best to get back up to weekly updates. :)**


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